Last Sunset...

Otres Beach

After leaving Kep, we drove two hours along the southern coast towards Sihanoukville, which is a main port and busy party destination for tourist.  Originally I never planned to go to this area but we had heard from various locals that Otres Beach, about ten km south of Sihanoukville, was a beautiful small stretch of white sand beach with few places to stay and very simple.  Getting reservations took some patience as most guesthouses were booked up during the Febuary peak season.  But we were really lucky and after being on several cancellation list, we got four nights at The Secret Garden, which is just what we like... Clean simple bungalows with tropical greenery and a pool.   Turned out to be a wonderful spot with nothing much to do but walk, swim, eat and repeat.  We did have to change rooms three times in four nights, but that was easy as we basically just rolled our bags to the neighboring bungalow.  Each bungalow had a name, and we were first the Petunia bungalow, next the Fern bungalow, and finally the best, the Hibiscus.  Upon arrival our room wasn't ready so the manager suggested we walk across the sandy road to their beach restaurant and have our welcoming drink.  Usually you arrive and receive a cold scented towel, perhaps a sweet, and a refreshing cool drink.  Here, they let you order off the menu anything you want, so at 1:00 in the afternoon we were sipping our mojito's and feeling very happy.  The sand was like velvet, the water warm and clear. There were no jet skies, no wind surfers, no motorcycles, no kite sailors.   Just a few fisherman in their boats coming and going taking the tourist for day trips snorkling and seeing the islands offshore.  We scored two chaise lounges, some towels, and a palapa umbrella, and we were home.   Four easy blissful days.  Swimming early each morning before the breeze created a ripple on the surface.  Breakfast of fruit, yogurt, eggs and toast.   Ron would go early and get "our" table, and put towels and books on our chaise.   We would only have to deal with the half dozen massage ladies who hung out nearby coming over and offering beach massages and sandy pedicures, or the the squid ladies walking past with their traveling grills and fresh squid on a stick.  We usually had an afternoon swim in the fresh water pool, showered and were back by 5:30 for happy hour drinks and fresh homemade potato chips.  All the kids who worked there were so nice and easy going.  The sunsets were excellent, and the drinks strong.  Since we never deviated from our routine we had dinner there every night and afterwards walked to the beach chaise, reclined beneath the moon and stars, and just listened to the sounds of the lapping 6 inch waves and the music from the restaurant.  A very nice four days...

On the Beach

Coastal Kep

Raingsey Resort

Kep

Kep was a mere two hour drive from Phnom Penh.  It is located along the southern coastline of Cambodia.  As one Xpat told me, " Kep is Cambodia's best Kep secret."  Rather than a town center, it is a long stretch of occasional shops, wooden houses on stilts, shady shacks with hammocks, a few old colonial mansions, and the famous crab market.  Off the coast are several islands, with Vietnam not far away.  We arrived at our nine bungalow resort, Raingsey Resort, and realized how perfectly it was located.  Just a five minute walk down a dirt road to the crab market and about a dozen small restaurants. Most are on stilts jutting out over the water.  The French owners of Raingsey were delightful and had renovated the resort within the last year.  The pool was a pure water system and felt wonderful to swim in.  The grounds were lush and green, and beautifully maintained.  A small tranquil hidden paradise.  Every morning Mark, the owner, would ride his cycle to the only French bakery, about five minutes away, and buy fresh baguette and croissant.  Breakfast was served on the second floor of the open air palapa, with views over the pool and gardens to the ocean beyond.  I am afride I am turning into a petite baguette as I enjoy all the delicious breads offered here each morning.  Originally we questioned what we would do with six nights in this small quiet place.  But with the intimate grounds, comfortable bungalow, the clean warm pool and the easy walk into "town" we had all we needed to keep busy.  We did take a tuktuk one morning about 25 minutes out of town, down a long washboard dirt road, to an organic "Kampot" pepper farm.   The Woofer, or volunteer, walked us around the farm and explained how pepper plants are grown and harvested.  So much time Is involved growing the vines before they produce, 4 years later, and the intensive harvesting of the red peppercorns, the white peppercorns and the black peppercorns that I now understand why they are so expensive and dear.  Another day we left at 9 a.m. with a group of six other tourist on a boat to snorkel around the three islands off the coast.  I am wary of boats but went with an open mind and had a great time the first four hours. But the sun was intense and the day long. The small motors on the boat meant we putt putt'd back two long hours, rolling side to side, and the diesel fumes were strong.  I lost my patience and just couldn't wait to return to the dock.  Every evening we'd walked down the hill for sunset drinks and dinner.  The blue crabs were sweet, the squid tender and the fish fantastically fresh.  My favorite place was called Holy Crab.   Each night as we exited the restaurant there were all the tuk tuk drivers who wanted to take you wherever you needed to go.  I learned how to say big belly, "Pom poi", and would pat my tummy and tell them that phrase, and they would laugh (and probably agree with me) and we would walk home, beneath the full moon.

Crab Market

Snorkeling around Rabbit Island

100 Degrees

Moon Over Battambang

We arrived in Battambang with the new moon.   Only a three hour drive from Siem Reap, but what a remarkable difference!  It is surposed to be the second largest town in Cambodia but that must include the surrounding farmland as the town is not so very large.  Much slower pace of life, less trash, no wild party streets like Khao San Road in Bangkok or Pub Street in Siem Reap.  A river, very shallow this time of year, runs through the city, and there is an esplanade along each side, much cleaner than in Siem Reap.  Families enjoy the evening air and there are small playgrounds and many food carts. People ride their motorcycles at a mellow pace and there are only a dozen or two simple restaurants where tourist drink and eat.  Angelina Jolie is filming a movie in town, and the first night we stood along the closed off streets watching the fake Khmer Rouge solders marching across the bridge complete with vintage cars and green army vehicles.  Streets are numbered. The main road along the river is #1, the next parallel is #2, the next #3.  But charmingly the very small streets in between are #1.5 and #2.5 and #3.5.  We stayed our first two night in a restored French colonial villa built in 1935.   It was a last glimpse of what times were like during the Indochine era. Seven rooms, a glass domed pavillion on the back enclosing the dining room and curved zinc bar, with a garden and outdoor dining.  Beautiful petite pool.  Sadly new high rise hotels have been built on either side, but within the grounds you felt the elegance of a bygone time.  We had the small room in the back nearest the pool.  Very deco furnishings and carved Chinese doors.   After our stay there we went out into the countryside about four km to the Battambang Resort.  A young Dutch man and his Cambodian wife built this well thought out architectural resort with modern rooms, traditional gardens and the best huge saltwater pool.  Such a retreat from the constant noise and activity of the town.  Ron and I spent every day relaxing around the pool.  Then in the evening we took the tuktuk into town for drinks and dinner and fun.  Everyone wants to sell you a tour of the bat caves, or the bamboo railroad, or the temples, but we have seen enough and elected to stay quiet and alone beside the pool.  And I mean alone because most tourist get up early, breakfast and leave before I even make it breakfast.  We had the place to ourselves most days.  Really a wonderful idyllic time swimming, reading and listening to the Cambodian music coming from a house nearby for two days as there was a wedding party.  I have a feeling this small town will never be too small again.

Battambang

On the Road~ One Month

I find it hard to believe a month has gone past.  One third of our trip.  Of course if I think in terms of five flights, six different hotels, three countries...it begins to make sense.  Some of the high lights of the trip include meeting up with Luci and Mark, first in Bangkok and then in Chiang Mai.  One day we Vibered one another while we were in Chiang Mai and they were in Luang Prabang.  We were all in our respective beds, wearing all our warmest clothes and down jackets, trying to stay warm.  We laughed and laughed at the absurdity of being so cold in Asia.  Who knew there would be an Arctic Blast!  Walking down a Soi and running into my sisters' goddaughter!  Laying in bed sipping a vodka and lime writing my last blog from Luang Prabang when at ten p.m. the phone on the desk rings and actually startles us.  It was Ivan, our host at the hotel, inviting me and Ron out for drinks at a bar down the street.  Turns out he and his wife and visiting French friends were going to meet up with a friend of theirs in town named Khun Root, who owns the most beautiful hotel in Chiang Mai, where we have stayed twice before.  I got out of bed, put on my newly purchased dress, and walked down to the small French bar and joined them.  And it was wonderful to be remembered by Khun Root!  Having the girls at our resort in Siam Reap make us Mojito's each evening and each night they made them stronger and stronger!  Giggles and smiles on their faces.  Walking amongst the ruins in Angkor and passing a young man sitting in a crude wooden shack along the dusty walk.  He was playing an instrument kind of like a xylophone called a "kum" with a little girl of perhaps six or seven with finger cymbles accompaning him.  It was such a haunting melody, I had to sit down on a log bench and listen with tears streaming down my face.   He only had one leg.   Talking to my sister via FaceTime walking around the restored colonial French villa we were staying at, and the young waitress coming up and looking at my iPad screen and having such a look of wonder as she said "you are talking to yourself"! And even more laughter when I said "sister" and she said "twin"!   The childlike innocenence of some of the young people is such a treasure to behold.  Especially when you consider it has not been that long since the Cambodians suffered horribly at the hands of Pol Pot and the customs, dance, art and ancestry was almost wiped out.  I love riding in the back of the tuktuks, wind in my hair, dust in my eyes.  I love the offerings placed everyday with devotion and prayer.  I love eating!  The food is so delicious and incredibly nuanced with flavors, spices and herbs.  And on that note it is time to shower, get dressed, spray on mosquito repellant and take the tuktuk to town...

Angkor Temples

Angkor Temples

Around Siem Reap

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Ron and I flew two hours on a Vietnamese Airlines turboprop to this town we had last visited in 1997.  We arrived during the rush hour which means hundreds, if not thousands, of motorcycles and tuktuks and cars all sharing the road which have no lanes, just an understanding of who careens around the other and who has right of way.   The air was smoggy and smelled of fires and exhaust.  I was shocked at the enormous changes.  Large ugly hotels lined the road from the airport, which was under construction last time we arrived, by boat.  We were picked up at the airport in a vintage Land Rover and arrived at our hotel, The Angkor Village Hotel, in style.   We were immediately delighted by the beauty and respite from the outside chaos.  Even the air was perfumed which truefully I could have done without.  But the grounds were lovely and intensely tropical with hanging plants like long tendrils hanging from the second story balconies.  Our room had a view over the lotus ponds and we felt fortunate to stay in such a wonderful sanctuary.  Breakfast was huge.  The homemade yogurt in tiny glass bottles and fruit salad was my favorite.  Didn't stop there, had to have perfectly made French omelets and croissant as well.  Fresh juices and jams.   Here, everything is priced in dollars.  I have yet to exchange any money to local Riel.  Funny to see everyone handing over American money.   A large cold draft Cambodian beer cost $1 but a can of soda water cost $1.50... Go figure.  Needless to say we have had our fair share of beer.   At first I was dismayed at the dirt and dust and grime everywhere.  And quickly learned not to venture out at rush hour.  But we slowly got our bearings and walked everywhere and found great small restaurants and local Xpat hang outs.  The Cambodians are very sweet natured and sadly have yet to fully recover from the horrors of Pol Pot.  Most speak a little English but can confuse you to think they know more.  We did meet one interesting man who ran a busy guest house and restaurant.  He spoke great English, had studied in Germany, and was very helpful.   He answered my array of questions and also arranged for a tuktuk driver to take us out to the Angkor Temple complex the next day.  Siem Reap is the gateway to the temples that were built in the early 12th century.  There are ruins spread over more than 400 km, consisting of many sites of ancient terraces, pools, moated cities, palaces, and temples.  The most famous is Angkor Wat.  Even with the number of tourist now, the ruins remain a wonderfully amazing site.  We went out for two days.  And two days of breathing red dust, and climbing steep stairs, and wandering from one site to another is tiring, especially in the heat.  Our driver was nice, and he offered us an individually wrapped cold wet wipe from his cooler each time we returned to the tuktuk.  Other days we just wandered around the town, laid around our pool, and went out for meals.  The week went past easily.   As I packed my rolling duffle, I laughed when the zipper was harder to close.  I now have collected three more pairs of pants, a new skirt, a top, and a dress.  Oh, and four new scarves.  

Lotus Flower Folding Lesson

Breakfast and Happy Hour

Luang Prabang

Around town...